Deon Meyer’s COBRA has been shortlisted for the Crime Writers’ Association International Dagger. COBRA is translated by K L Seegers. The shortlists were announced at Crimefest in Bristol last Friday. The overall winners will be presented with their awards on 30th June, to mark the end of Crime Reading Month, at a gala dinner in central London.
Also shortlisted are Camille by Pierre Lemaitre, translated by Frank Wynne, Into a Raging Blaze by Andreas Norman, translated by Ian Giles, Falling Freely, As If In A Dream by Leif GW Persson, translated by Paul Norlen, Arab Jazz by Karim Miské, translated by Sam Gordon and The Invisible Guardian by Dolores Redondo, translated by Isabelle Kaufeler.
Deon was previously shortlisted for the awards in 2010 with his novel THIRTEEN HOURS, also translated by K L Seegers.
COBRA was published in the UK by Hodder in 2014. It was chosen by Publisher’s Weekly as one of the Top Ten Mystery and Thriller for Fall and ‘Thriller of the Week’ on the very popular Dutch thriller & crime fiction communityCrimezone.nl. In his home territory South Africa, COBRA (published in Afrikaans by Human & Rousseau as KOBRA) shot to Number 1 on Afrikaans publication last year, beating off all international competition in English as well.
Praise for COBRA:
‘A masterful new thriller. This is terrific stuff: fine plotting, superb characterisation, a constant thread of suspense, a multi-ethnic cast and an intriguing setting. It also comes with a glossary of South African terms and if COBRA doesn’t win at least one major prize this year, then someone needs a good snotskoot blikseming.’ – Mike Ripley, Shotsmag
‘The plot clicks along like a machine… The set pieces, such as a complex train-hopping action sequence, are slickly executed. This is an author in full charge of his technique, but he burnishes the mechanics of the story with delicious Kaapse characters and richly idiomatic dialogue. The feral pickpocket Tyrone Kleinbooi is one of Meyer’s best characters ever, sly and quick with a strong sense of thieves’ honour. Meyer has a habit of beckoning side characters to the front of stage in subsequent books… Here’s hoping Meyer will put Mbali Kaleni centre stage in future. More of Mbali, please, and more, much more of Deon Meyer.’ – Michele Magwood, SA Sunday Times
Praise for Deon Meyer:
‘A master on vintage form… He is a defining novelist of modern South Africa.’ – Barry Forshaw, Books of the Year 2012, Independent
‘Deon Meyer is one of the best crime writers on the planet.’ – Mail on Sunday
'With Deon Meyer you can't go wrong. He's a writer whose work I admire, wait for and then devour.' -- Michael Connelly